Daniel Francis MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree, and I was a Labour councillor and leader of the council’s Labour opposition back then. I was also married to a special educational needs co-ordinator who was employed by the local authority. I was employing my own professionals to get through this process and ensure that the health aspects of the EHCP were upheld. The situation is absolutely abhorrent. Many parents who do not have the opportunity and insight that my wife and I had cannot ensure that accountability for their child. When my borough received that judgment of systemic failings, that issue really came to the fore. I would be grateful if the Minister or Secretary of State could outline how the Government intend to address the issues addressed by my amendment and the new clause tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock. My amendment intends to ensure that we deliver basic objectives, set clear expectations for how long disabled people should wait, set consistent standards, and ensure meaningful accountability for ICBs when services fall short.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with my hon. Friend. As I will come on to, there is an inconsistent set of data across the country. This inconsistency is not just between ICBs but, in the case of my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham and Chislehurst (Clive Efford), between neighbouring London boroughs, which may have the same ICB but different frameworks. I also welcome the support for the amendment from the Children’s Commissioner, who has said: “Across the country, children wait far too long for the right equipment that is essential for daily life. In recent research on children experiencing delayed discharge from hospital, the office was told that delays in getting equipment, and having equipment serviced, had led to children being stuck in hospital, away from family, friends and school.” This postcode lottery is not just cross-country—I know of a number of ICBs in which there are significant issues—but within ICBs. In my part of south-east London, one patient can be discharged, while another, in the same hospital with the same condition, living on the opposite side of the road, cannot be discharged. That difference arises because a borough boundary runs down the road. There are different contractual arrangements between different London boroughs in the same ICB. I know at first hand that pupils in the same school class, and in the same ICB, can have completely different service standards for their wheelchairs because one lives in one London borough while another lives in the neighbouring borough. I will speak briefly to new clause 85, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft). Like me, she is the parent of a disabled child. We have fought these issues for many years, both as parents and on behalf of our constituents. In my case, I know that when Ofsted found that there were systemic failings in our SEND provision, we could hold our local authority to account, but we could not properly hold our ICB to account. The judgment was issued against the council, not the ICB.